Fireworks Festival

The enjoyment of fireworks is a common denominator in cultures around the world. Many countries, from big to small and rich to poor, celebrate important parts of their heritage with the inclusion of pyrotechnic elements lighting up the sky. There is no better way to celebrate an important event than by igniting the night with spectacular pyrotechnic elements that surprise the audience with color, noise and other special effects. The “oohs” and “ahhs” coming from the crowd show the delight of all and set the stage for a successful fireworks festival.

Around the world, many nations ring in the New Year on December 31st with wild and raucous celebrations. As the clock counts down to midnight, pyrotechnic elements are queued up as fireworks festivals to usher in the momentous occasion with a bang. Australia has one of the most watched fireworks festival in the world as the country’s time zone makes them one of the very first to reach the New Year. Millions of people see the grand fireworks display lighting up the Sydney harbor with the iconic Opera House in the foreground.

While the Chinese New Year doesn’t follow the western calendar, this important event, often called the Festival of Lights, is celebrated in January or February in China and other countries that are home to large Asian populations. The colorful dragon dance is an iconic sight of this fireworks festival and the smoke coming out of his nostrils is made by a smoke bomb, of course! Also, firecrackers and other fireworks are set off to scare away evil spirits and help usher in a new year of prosperity.

In India and countries with Hindu populations, a festival of lights called Diwali is celebrated for five full days, falling anywhere from mid-October to mid-November. During this time, families and communities come together to light lamps symbolizing the triumph of good over evil and celebrate the ritual with new clothes, sweet foods, parties and of course a fireworks festival.

In England, Guy Fawkes Day, more recently referred to as Bonfire Night or Fireworks Night, began as a day of thanksgiving for a failed plot to assassinate King James I at the turn of the 17th century. Today, while much of the political and religious undertones of this fireworks festival have faded away, the night is still marked with large pyrotechnics displays and roaring bonfires in cities and towns across the nation.